Analyst Downgrades: Hershey Co, Imperva Inc, and Autodesk, Inc.

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Hershey Co (NYSE:HSY), Imperva Inc (NYSE:IMPV), and Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK)

Josh Selway

Aug 30, 2016 at 10:00 AM

Analysts are weighing in on chocolate specialist Hershey Co (NYSE:HSY), cybersecurity stock Imperva Inc (NYSE:IMPV), and software firm Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on HSY, IMPV, and ADSK.

HSY is down 11.2% this morning at $99.11, after Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) announced it's no longer interested in buying the company. Making matters worse, BofA-Merrill Lynch resumed coverage with a bearish "underperform" outlook, while Morgan Stanley dropped its price target to $102 from $110, saying the news "should remove much of strategic premium in HSY stock and likely increase pressure on management to drive margin expansion and value creation." Hershey Co is now trading at its lowest point since before Mondelez's initial offer from late June, but it looks like today's sell-off is good news for some on Wall Street. Specifically, short interest on HSY shot up 16.6% in the last reporting period.
A downgrade to "sector weight" at Pacific Crest has pressured IMPV 1.5% lower to $45.96. It's been an ugly year for the stock, which began 2016 trading above $60. What's more, the $47-$48 area is again giving the shares trouble, as it did numerous between February and early May. Nonetheless, 13 of 17 analysts call Imperva Inc a "strong buy," and not one recommends selling it -- though optimism has waned some in recent weeks.

ADSK is 0.3% higher at $68.54, shaking off a downgrade to "underweight" from "neutral" at MUFG Securities. This bearish attention comes just days after the shares gapped to record highs, helping Autodesk, Inc. to a 15% month-to-date advance. Meanwhile, with earnings now in the rearview, premium on Autodesk, Inc.'s near-term options is extremely muted at the moment, according to our Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 25%, which sits just 8 percentage points from a 12-month low.

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